


A Thousand Imaginative Minds to Inspire Us

by quaint_camera



Category: Merlin (TV) RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Banter, Fast Food, Fluff, Kink Meme, M/M, Meta, RPF, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-01-08
Updated: 2012-02-26
Packaged: 2017-10-29 15:32:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,733
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/321416
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/quaint_camera/pseuds/quaint_camera
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Colin catches Bradley reading RPF (NC-17) about them on the internet. Warnings: language, innuendo.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Curiosity

**Author's Note:**

> Written for [Kink Me, Merlin!](http://kinkme-merlin.livejournal.com/1108.html?thread=279892) over at Livejournal.
> 
> College AU? Which doesn’t really make sense, but let's just pretend it does. Also I thought I'd never write RPF... until I was introduced to the wonders of Brolin. Then this prompt clutched onto my brain and wouldn't let go!

Bradley glances up to see Colin in the doorway, a grin on his face that spans from one ridciculously huge ear to the other as he removes one of his earbuds and lifts the plain brown paper sack he’s carrying in his other hand, giving it a deliberate, promising little shake.

“I got drinks!” he chirps, tossing the bag down on the hall table and diving into it, fumbling with the rustling paper and the dangling headphone cords and eventually retrieving two huge, white styrofoam cups. Probably soft drinks. They slosh noisily as Colin wades over to the desk area, carefully navigating around the piles of carelessly discarded laundry and textbooks that litter the carpet.

Bradley’s blonde head is lowered, muted blue eyes feverishly scanning whatever’s on the laptop screen. Sensing something, or maybe just realizing that he’s trying to concentrate, Colin quietly sets Bradley’s drink next to the keyboard without interupting, presumably so he can get it when he’s ready. 

Bradley gives a small grunt of acknowledgement, but doesn’t take a drink since he doesn’t feel thirsty. He knows that he’s being a little rude but he’s in one of those weird moods where he’s feeling too selfish and lazy to try and do better.

Behind him, Colin moves through their dorm like a mini-tornado, rustling around with papers, folders, and textbooks in preparation for homework, then moving back into the cramped little kitchen to put away groceries and, from the sound of it, organize the cupboards in the process.

When he hears Colin’s drink sloshing around loudly somewhere near his ear, Bradley knows he’s back. 

“Busy?” It’s a careful question. Colin doesn’t want push him, hurt him. Always so considerate like that.

Bradley sighs, drooping in uncomfortable office chair he’s sitting in. “Not really.”

“Engrossed, then?” Colin counters, teasingly. “You didn’t even smell the food!”

This gets his attention, and Bradley turns his head and nearly bumps their noses together, causing Colin to giggle, and keep giggling when Bradley’s stomach quietly groans.

“What food?!” Bradley demands, because he honestly didn’t notice, but now he can smell spices in the air. “Are you serious?!”

“Mmm hmm,” Colin murmurs. “Indian, as’matter of fact.” His eyes are narrowed and almost sleepy...something that would have been decieving had Bradley not known him well. Colin places a soft kiss on his lips, but the softness soon gives way to a hungry, persistent sucking and loud, put-on moans that are absolutely lewd, until it’s Bradley who’s laughing.

“Alright, alright, I get it!” He exclaims, when he manages to pry himself from the kiss. “You’re more interesting than the internet, I know!” His cock throbs in agreement. “I’m shutting down right now.”

“Hold on,” Colin says brightly, gently elbowing Bradley’s arm away from the mouse so he can take over and perching on one of Bradley’s legs like he’s a chair. “I want to see what was so interesting.”

Bradley opens his mouth to protest, but it’s too late. 

_You and your damned curiosity, Colin._

He hovers over the browser icon, and all Bradley can think is  _fuckfuckfuck no please no_ and thinks of reaching out to stop him, but again, it’s too late. Colin punches it and the screen changes, bringing up the page Bradley last had open.

The screen fills with text he knows is the fic that lead him to discovering this stupid meme in the first place. Damn his luck. Damn Colin’s curiosity. Damn everything.

Beneath Colin’s bony backside, Bradley wriggles uncomfortably, but can’t think of anything to say that will make it better, or any smooth coverup, so he opts instead to say nothing at all, reaching for his drink and sipping mindlessly, without tasting it.

All he can do is wait for Colin finish reading the fic and see how he reacts.


	2. Porn?!

It’s been awhile and Colin has scrolled a few times, but still hasn't said anything. Bradley's heart is pouding a fierce rhythm against his breastbone like a bad cliche, and he prays for something, anything to break the tension. A nuclear explosion. The apocalypse even.   
  
“This is about us.” Colin blurts, startling him. His voice is carefully neutral though, gives Bradley no clue as to how he should respond.   
  
"...Yeah."   
  
“You wrote it?” He’s confused.   
  
Bradley feels his eyes go ten times wide. “Of course not, Colin!” he sputters. “ _Jesus._  No. Why would I?!”   
  
“Who did then?” He's still riveted on the screen.   
  
“Fuck, I don’t know!” The expletive is hot in Bradley’s mouth; a result of his flaring temper.   
  
Colin frowns, scrolls up to the top of the page. "Livejournal," he reads, disapprovingly.   
  
Bradley sighs. Colin's hopeless when it comes to the internet. He doesn't even have a Facebook, so there's no way he knows what Livejournal is. "It's a website," he explains.   
  
“...Where people write  _porn_  about us?” Colin spits the word harshly, like it's foreign and dirty, and pains him.   
  
Bradley grunts. "It’s not  _porn_ , Colin, and not everything people post on there is about us."   
  
"...It's porn, Bradley." The tips of his ears are reddened, like a schoolboy who's been caught doing something naughty, and there is a huge warm explosion of affection that begins in Bradley's chest and radiates outwards, tingling.   
  
He wraps his arms tight around Colin's slender waist, rests his cheek on his boyfriend's bony shoulder, chuckling warmly and nipping gently at the creamy white swell of Colin's earlobe. "I prefer not to think of it that way, darling," he croons sweetly. "This site is full of people who write this--porn, as you insist on calling it... " He trails off, too distracted by the attention he's lavishing on Colin's ear to continue... teasing the lobe with the tip of his tongue, sucking the whole of it into his mouth, and licking a long stripe downwards, down that long, pale neck.   
  
"Bradley," Colin groans. "N-not now."   
  
Bradley raises his head, grinning brightly. "When then?" he asks, pressing a soft kiss to Colin's flushed cheek.   
  
"We were having a discussion." He's nearly pouting.   
  
"Unh-huh," Bradley agrees, giving him a squeeze. "Can we not discuss  _and_ \--"   
  
"No, we can't."   
  
"What is it, Cols?" he asks quietly, straightening up. "Listen, I'm sorry. I never meant for you to find out like this, or even for you to find out about this in the first place."   
  
"Don't apologize," Colin murmurs, lowering his head. "It was my nosiness that did it."   
  
Bradley just looks at him fondly. "Not nosiness. Just curiosity, and I love that about you... that you love to learn things. Why do you think I call you Professor Morgan?" He pokes a finger into the soft, ticklish flesh of Colin's stomach, and he twitches and erupts in a bubbly bout of giggles before gently smacking Bradley's hand away.


	3. Challenge

"Anyway," he goes on, "it  _is_  kinda disturbing that people think about us... well, going at it... in this much detail, I'll give you that... but I suppose it's to be expected. We are kind of famous now, Cols. And not at all bad-looking. We could only be better together." Bradley nudges him, expecting a chuckle and maybe a jab about his swollen ego, but there's nothing.  
  
"It's not that," Colin says softly, after a moment. "It's just... how do they know--about us, I mean? That we're together."  
  
It takes Bradley a second before laughter rips from his chest.  "Oh! Is that what's got you worried?" He chucks Colin under the chin, is met with the most beautiful earnest blue eyes, wide and waiting. "They don't, Cols. Unless the paps get a picture of us kissing or holding hands or something obvious like that, they have no proof. And since we're especially careful about what we do in public, they never will. It's all just wishful thinking on the part of fans."  
  
"Oh," Colin breathes, and Bradley feels some of the tension drop from his shoulders and pets his back.   
  
"Feel better now?" he asks, grinning.  
  
Colin gives an indecipherable grunt. "I just don't get why people would want to write and read this stuff!" he says in exasperation.  
  
"Maybe the idea of us together is sexy to people!" Bradley suggests, most certainly not giggling. (Bradley James, epitome of manliness, does not giggle. Not ever.)  
  
Colin's face screws up. "Great," he says dryly. "So basically, you're saying we just make good wank material for fans."  
  
Typical Colin. He's never cared much for the fans and their Merlin/Arthur shipping, so finding out that people ship them as real-life actors is probably even more upsetting. Colin's usually all smiles and sunshine, except when he's annoyed, and then he gets a little sarcastic, but it's nothing Bradley can't handle.  
  
"As I said, I don't think of it that way. Think of it as a thousand imaginative minds to inspire us! After all, I do plan on taking you to bed one day, you know, and I'm sure these people have invented a much larger variety of cleverer and more interesting ways for me to pleasure you than I ever could on my own."   
  
Colin sputters, despite that he's suddenly hot all over because of Bradley's murmur, low and warm and right in his ear. "Bradley," he moans, weakly, attempting to writhe out of the other man's grip as his cock twitches in interest. "Don't say such things!"  
  
"Or what?" Bradley continues, fingers slipping down to caress the inside of Colin's thigh. “You'll get a hard-on? Oh, whoops, my bad. You already have one.”  
  
Colin whines and tilts his head back as Bradley's palm brushes the crotch of his jeans, grits out, “I thought it was fairly obvious--”  
  
Bradley's only response is a deep, quiet chuckle. It's ridiculously sexy.  
  
“Bedroom,” Colin gasps out, surfacing momentarily from the heady sensation of Bradley's touch and jumping down off his lap.  
  
“Well, well,” Bradley purrs, and makes a show of slowly sauntering over to him, swaying his hips as he goes before slipping his hand into Colin's.  
  
Apparently aroused enough to be past his embarrassed stage, Colin jerks his head towards Bradley's laptop, still open on the desk. "Hope that really did give you some inspiration," he says, tauntingly close to Bradley's lips. "Otherwise I'll be  _gravely_  disappointed."  
  
Bradley throws his head back and laughs. "Challenge accepted!"  
  
Giggling like a madman, Colin shoves him towards their room and, working around Bradley's attempts to strip him, eventually manages to shut the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I used a meme in my dialogue. No, I am not sorry. :P


End file.
